The Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) are a series of standardized surveys conducted periodically in developing countries that collect data on various aspects of population, health, and nutrition. In this final project report, DHS data from Kenya (2003 to present) will be used to present on basic demographic information and contraceptive-related data.
Several DHS datasets (called recodes) are made available from each survey. The individual recode (IR) dataset contains individual-level data on women aged 15 to 49 in the surveyed households. This data is what will be used for the analysis and reporting of data in the final project.
For this report I am analyzing women’s individual recode data from Kenya (2003 - present). For more information on DHS data for all countries, visit the DHS website “Survey Search” here.
Most women respondents reported kenyan nationality. Additionally, most women interviewed were young (15 - 19, n= 3216).
Nationality | 15-19 | 20-24 | 25-29 | 30-34 | 35-39 | 40-44 | 45-49 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kenyan | 2,845 | 2,526 | 2,839 | 2,085 | 1,859 | 1,362 | 1,116 |
Tanzanian | 4 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
Ugandan | 4 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 3 |
Somali | 6 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
Other | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Ethiopian | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Sudanese | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
TOTAL | 3,216 | 2,868 | 3,078 | 2,345 | 1,992 | 1,616 | 1,223 |
The most women reporting no children were in the 15-19 age group with 5180 in this demographic reporting they had 0 children born.
The maximum number of kids were born to women of older age in the 45-49 age group. The maximum number of kids reported was 15 for this demographic.
| Age Group | Max Number of Kids |
|---|---|
| 15-19 | 4 |
| 20-24 | 8 |
| 25-29 | 11 |
| 30-34 | 11 |
| 35-39 | 13 |
| 40-44 | 14 |
| 45-49 | 15 |
Most respondents in both urban and rural residences report not currently using contraception.
The top 5 reasons for no contraception use, as well as an “Other” category capturing less commonly cited responses, are visualized here. Tmost commonly cited reasons for not using contraception among women with primary education or more were lack of knowledge and not being married. However, for women that had no education, infrequent sex was the reason most reported for not using contraception. Less commonly cited reasons for no contraception combined within the “Other” category include “Fatalistic”, “Menopause or Hysterectomy”, “No Knowledge”, “No Source”, “Others Opposed”, “Partner Opposed”, “Prohibited by Religion”, “Prohibited by Respondent”, “Opposed by Respondent”, “Subfecund”, “Preference N/A”, “Body”, “Inconvenient” and “Other.”
Most women that reported no contraception use were living in Rift Valley at the time of the interview (n = 5726). However, this may be because most respondents were living in that region (n = 9059). Folkloric and traditional methods were least often reported as methods of contraception across all regions.